First MacDonald ministry
The first MacDonald ministry of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tally exceeded that of the Conservative government, creating a hung parliament. Stanley Baldwin remained in office until January 1924.
This article is about the first ministry led by Ramsay MacDonald. For other uses, see Macdonald ministry.
First MacDonald ministry
22 January 1924
4 November 1924
58 appointments
The Conservatives had won the previous general election held in 1922 shortly after the fall of the Lloyd George Coalition when along with their Unionist allies, they had won 344 seats. This seemed a significant enough majority to expect a full parliamentary term. Nevertheless, shortly after the election the Conservative leader Bonar Law died and was replaced by Baldwin, who reneged on his predecessor's electoral pledge not to introduce protective tariffs. Baldwin sought a fresh mandate from the electorate in 1923. The result was decisive, being against protectionism, and it was clear that the Conservatives had lost, despite remaining the largest party. Baldwin had little chance of remaining prime minister when the balance of power was held by the Liberal Party under H. H. Asquith, who had campaigned vigorously for free trade, to the point of healing the rift that existed between the Asquith and Lloyd George Liberal Party factions. Baldwin advised King George V to send for MacDonald, since the Labour Party held more seats in the Commons than the Liberals. MacDonald accepted the King's commission later that day, arriving with his Labour colleagues, to the amusement of many and dismay of others, in full court dress.[1]
MacDonald and the cabinet[edit]
MacDonald had become Labour's first proper leader in 1922. As well as being Prime Minister, he became his own Foreign Secretary, a dual role which he performed well enough, but which alienated the second man in the party, Arthur Henderson, who became Home Secretary. Philip Snowden, the evangelical ex-member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) became a rigidly orthodox Chancellor of the Exchequer, while the next two prominent members of the party, J. H. Thomas and J. R. Clynes, became Colonial Secretary and Lord Privy Seal respectively. The Fabian Sidney Webb, who had, along with Henderson, been instrumental in conceiving Labour's 1918 programme 'Labour and the New Social Order' which had committed the party to nationalisation (Clause IV), was appointed President of the Board of Trade; another Fabian, Lord Olivier, became Secretary of State for India. A former chairman of the parliamentary party, Willie Adamson, became Scottish Secretary, while left-wingers Fred Jowett and John Wheatley became, respectively, First Commissioner of Works and Minister of Health.
The Cabinet was characterised by a moderate trade union feel, although it also contained a few Liberals. Only three members had previously been ministers (two only briefly): Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane (ex-Liberal), Arthur Henderson and J. R. Clynes; though others had been under-secretaries.
Foreign policy[edit]
Many historians have argued that the first Labour Government's most notable achievements were in foreign affairs, of which Ramsay MacDonald had devoted much time and effort, having taken the posts of both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. Germany had failed to maintain reparation payments in the years following the end of the Great War, and France, in response, occupied Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr. The Dawes Conference was subsequently held to find a solution to the crisis, and, in August 1924, it concluded that Germany had to achieve economic stability before paying out any reparations. Although France refused to adopt the Dawes Plan, MacDonald spent most of his time as Foreign Secretary trying to win over the French. Macdonald first held talks with both the Belgians and French at Chequers and then hosted an Inter-Allied conference in London in July 1924.[9]
Through sharp negotiating skills and powers of persuasion, Macdonald was able to successfully make the Prime Minister of France Édouard Herriot agree to all of the proposals in the Dawes Plan, apart from an immediate withdrawal from the Ruhr. That August, fresh agreements on peace and reparations were signed in London between Germany and the Allies. Macdonald's success in helping to resolve international disagreements at this time was arguably one of the first Labour Government's most significant accomplishments.[9]